It is important to learn to protect the puck and to transition between playing roles quickly. i.e. when you pass you get open right away and not stand there or when you lose the puck you find someone to cover.

- Also hustle out when the whistle goes.

- Pass the puck to the coach or a teammate on the whistle instead of leaving it in the zone.

Description:

Game One; Tight low battles

1. Coach dump the puck in.

2. Players race in and battle for the loose puck and try to score.

3. When defenders regain the puck they must pass to the coach to go onto offense and they practice role 2 getting open and defenders role 4 covering away from the puck. No one checks the coach who is the joker who can shoot or pass back to the team who passed to him.

4. Play 20" and hustle out on the whistle and pass to the coach who dumps it in when everyone is out.

5. This is a great game to work on the cycle and low D zone coverage.

Game Two; Quick Shot Game or Power Play Game

Place the nets on the bluelines (or in a zone if only half ice). It is 3 on 3 with 2 players on each team in the offensive end and one in the defensive end.

1. Coach dumps the puck in the middle and they battle for the puck.

2. Play for about 20â€ with the coach putting in a new puck on goals or missed nets.

3. Keep score.

4. Rotate new players in on the whistle.

Game Three; Low Battle with Players Joining After a Give and Go

1. Coach dumps the puck in or shoots.

2. Players battle for the puck 1 on 1.

3. Teammates can join the attack when they make a give and go with the active players.

4. Play about 30 seconds.

5. As in all games keep score up to something like 3 for a win and play a 2 of 3 series.

Key Points:The D7 Formation with 2 nets at each end is an effective way to utilize the ice with large groups or even with 2 teams sharing the rink. Use rink dividers like pads, wood, fire hose or simply put the nets in place.

Description:In this diagram are some of the activities you can do when you divide the ice like this.1. 1/4 ice transition games where the offense or defense gets either passive or active support or waits for a pass in the neutral zone.

3. 1/4 ice skill games with modified rules such as only skate backward, flat footed skating, scootering, on one leg only, sticks the opposite way etc.

4. 1/4 ice games with rules for good habits such as always face the puck, only 1" with the puck, only one timer shots, you must take at least 3 hard strides before passing or shooting, goals must come from give and goes, only forehand passes, only backhand passes, only saucer passes, you must use and escape move before a pass or shot. Keepaway games with points for consecutive passes etc.

2. Pass 2 pucks while filling the 3 lanes and then regroup with players at the far end and pass the 2 pucks back to the original end and then shoot both on the net, allowing the goalie to get set between shots.

3. Group at the opposite end leave after they have passed to the original group.

4. When the players are good with 2 pucks progress to passing 3 pucks.

* A good routine is to pass 3 pucks the first turn, then 2 pucks, then a 3 man weave with one puck, then add one defense and regroup with him, then add 2 defense and regoup with them and then add another regroup passing first time to one of the D and second time to the other.

Key Points:Quick feet for both the F and D. Forwards face the puck, give a target and skate into the pass.

Description:Full ice 1-1 and 2-1

1a. D get a pass from the circle.1b. F get a pass from the boards and shoot then rebound.2. D skate backward inside blue and pivot. F skate at D.3. D pass to F and F attack 1-1 vs D4. Do on both sides.5. You can also do a 2-1.

Description:Each team has a Joker at each end. You must regroup with your defensive joker when you gain possession on the puck and pass to the offensive joker before shooting.

A. Coach dumps in puck. Play 20-30"

1. On possesion regroup.2. Make breakout pass.3. Pass to low offensive joker.4. Get open for a pass.5. Try to score.6. Jokers may pass to each other and should skate with the puck to the other side or slide sideways. Avoid passing when standing still.

Key Points:F1 on the puck from inside out, F2 and F3 take away walls first. F2 and F3 cover the wings first.

Description:1. Forwards dump in the puck from above the blueline to a coach. 2. F1 skate hard from inside to outside with stick denying pass to middle. 3. F2 take away quick pass up the wall,4. F3 take away rim.

If they make the first pass F2 pressure, D1 stand up, F3 come across, F1 pursue in passing lane and D2 cover the wide lane.

On a D to D F3 pressure, F2 come across and F1 finish and skate hard back thru the middle.

Key Points:Players taking the pass must face the puck and give a target. Player passing should get between the dots with feet moving then pass. On a 2-0 only allow one pass in the offensive zone before shooting.

Description;1. Players are lined up down the centre of the rink in the C1 formation. Pucks in the corner.2. The first player at each end, 1 and 2 leave, pick up a puck, skate down the ice, shoot and rebound.3. Next player in line leave and time the support from either the boards or the middle lane and give a target for a breakout pass. Then go down and shoot.4. Progress to 2 players giving support from the boards and middle lane. 5. Regroups can be added by having the passer follow the attack. * 1-1 and 2-1 can be created by another player leaving the line and defending.

Key Points:My favorite game to warm up the players at the start of practice. The quicker they make the passes after regaining the puck the more scoring chances they produce. If you look on the video's my son and I are playing this game with Dany Heatley and Jamie Huart as they prepare to go to Europe for the World Championships.The game is the template and then you can add skill or good habit rules to practice 'How to Play the Game.'

Description:1. Players must stay inside the blueline and if they puck goes out the other team gets it.2. Before scoring the offensive team must make at least two passes.3. When the defenders regain the puck they must make at least two passes before a shot.4. Make rules with skills for skating, shooting, passing or good habits.

Description:1. Coach starts the drill by dumping the puck into one end and the 2 D work together to pass to the forwards.2. Forwards dump the puck into the other end when they cross the blue line and the next group of 5 breakout.3. Goalie talk to the D and the players communicate the various breakouts; go, wheel, reverse to the boards, counter, bank behind, D to D reverse.4. Options include adding a regroup and sending in forecheckers after the dump in.

When you have large groups and many goalies it is easy to divide the ice and do skills and games in smaller areas. Skating around the circle adds crossovers as well as drop pass options.

Description:

Players line up just outside of the blue line and circle the group skating and doing skills. 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 individual and partner skills can be practiced as well as situations like a 1-1, 2-1, 2-2 are created by having the players go to defense after they have attacked.

The coach can move from doing drills and then use this D7 Formation for small area games. It is helpful but not necessary to use rink dividers like a 4x4 board, pads, hose.

Insist on good habits. It is possible to have modified rules like at least one pass in each zone or goals must be on give and goes. Play full ice with either all the players at once or in shifts of about 45". There is a goalie at one end only.

Description:

1. Lie one net flat on the ice and a goal only counts when only the netting is hit: any noise from a pipe and no goal. Small nets, shooter tutor or hit posts is also possible.

2. After a goal the scoring team get the puck quickly and go the other way.

Key Points:It is important for all players to have a puck on their stick. Multi pucks overload the nervous system. Split vision is developed as a tacit skill in crowded situations. Develop routines to minimize talking time and maximize puck time.

Description:1. Start with players skating around the ice one lap each with 3 pucks then 2 then 1.

2. Goalies carry the multi pucks and go in the net when down to one for shots.

3. With one puck do the Russian big moves and shoot at each end.

4. All players move to the middle zone and carry a puck.

5. Partner pass with two pucks, parallel and one fwd one bkwd. Partners work 1-1 skills skating around each other.

a. Fast for about 5" on the whistle.b. Add specific moves like the toe drag.c. Add escape moves like a tight turn.d. Players now exchange pucks for 60".e. Keepaway-start by removing 1 or 2 pucks each whistle.

Key Points:This can be done every time players go on the ice to expand their muscle memory. The point of these exercises is to increase the size of the reach with the stickhandling moves, and to separate the upper and lower body.

This is one of the most important exercises a player can do to develop puck handling skills. All the moves can also be practice off ice with various kinds of balls and pucks.

Description:

From the A200 formation, players skate down the ice in 3 or 4 groups; practice big moves with the puck. One player leave and the next player go when he/she gets past the top of the circle. Finish with a shot from your lane no closer than the hash marks.

. Go one way then the other and do a different skill each time.

- Reach forward while down on 1 knee, reach back as far as you can.

- Give the puck forward and take it back with the toe of the stick.

- Place hands close together and reach sideways each way as far as possible.

- Practice head fakes and shoulder drops, and move the puck quickly to the other side of your body.

- Do high step-overs, when you step with your right foot to the left, reach as far as possible to the right with the puck, step with the left foot to the right and reach as far as possible to the left with the puck.

- Reach back as far as you can with the puck, turning the upper body so you are looking behind you as you skate in the opposite direction. Do the same the other way.

- Do 3 or 4 crossovers to the left and reach as far as possible to the right with the puck, then cross over to the right and reach as far as possible to the left with the puck. Reach back as far as you can with the puck, turning the upper body so you are looking behind you as you skate in the opposite direction.

- Single fake by practicing a small fake one way, then quickly pull the puck across your body to the other side.

- Double fake by giving a small fake one way, then quickly pull the puck across your body to the other side. Immediately bring it back.

- Put the puck behind you and pass it up into your skates from 1 side, then the other.

- Have the puck in front of you and pass it back to your skates and up to your stick, then off the outside of each skate and to your stick.

- Reach back on the forehand, then quickly pull the puck across your body.

- Skate backwards with the puck after pivoting to the right and do the same after pivoting left.

- Slide sideways, pushing about 4 or 5 times with the inside skate and gliding on the outside skate. Fake passes and shots while skating like this.

- Pivot a complete circle to the left and then to the right.

. Fake a slapshot and go around opponent on the backhand side.

. Fake a slapshot and go around opponent on the forehand side.

. Fake a slapshot and then do a backhand tight turn around opponent.

. Fake a slapshot and reach out like you are going around the opponent on your forehand and then pull the puck quickly to your backhand and go around opponent.

Many coaches have a 2 on 1 at one end and then another starts the other way with a new puck and the original players skate up the ice and join the play on offense and defense. This can be done in a transiton game.

* It is like the continuous 1-1 to 3-2 but the players get to be on both offense and defense.*

Description:

Use one puck and have the new players on offense at the blue line and the new D a little farther back then they can attack when passed to.

2. The players who just were on O now backcheck and the players on D join the rush.

3. When they enter the zone the new players skate to the blue and are passive until they get the puck.

4. The players who have only gone down the ice once now reverse game playing roles and join the play at the other end.

Key Points:Players must figure out the quickest way to pass the puck around the ice and give close support. Young players love this game.

Description:1. Half the players are on one team below the goal line and half are in the field scattered around the ice.2. A player on the team below the goal line fires the puck anywhere.3. The player who shot the puck now skates as fast as he can around the rink and must cross his goal line before the defending team score.4. All the players on the defending team must touch the puck and the last player score a goal before the skating player gets over the goal line.5. Three outs and the other team goes into the field.

TomM

Have the Defense practice tight turns or the hinge by skating wide then passing back to the middle or skating to the middle and passing wide to his partner. Forwards must face the puck and fill the 3 lanes.

Description:

1. Players are in 3 lines at opposite ends of the ice.

2. Three players weave down the ice and regroup with the defense.

3. Defense can pass right up or go D to D. The forwards face the puck and fill 3 lanes for a regroup pass.

4. One player must give an outlet on the strong side boards and doesn't leave unless he is replaced. One player in the middle and one wide. Wide player decide a.stay wide, b. cut acoss middle lane, c. stretch behind the D.

The principle is skate to the big ice in the middle then pass wide and follow your pass. The players in the outside lanes only come into the middle when they get a pass.

Yesterday we played our last game. Three team folded because they lost their sponsors in the bad economy and there are a lot of travel expenses going across western Canada and to Minnesota. Our league decided that only the team in first place goes to Ontario for the Championship where there is an eight team league. Minnesota finished first. Once we had 9 skaters and 4 D instead of 3 or 4 affiliates playing every game we were competitive with them and won 2 of our last 4 games against Minn. It was their only 2 losses.

Anyway we played Edmonton yesterday and I decided to use the same system as the pro team in Austria I was with last season used. It is a hybrid of the torpedo, left wing lock and aggressive 1-3-1. I introduced it before the warm up and then reviewed after. The shots were 13-12 for us after the first and the score 0-1. One of my players suggested that we move her and another very good player from torpedoes to back so that we had better possession on breakouts. I thouoght about it for a few minutes and then changed the line up. It worked and we dominated and outshot them 19-4 in the second and the score was 1-1. We continued with this and the players got more comfortable and we really started to control the game. We ended up winning 3-2.

Our team was in such flux all year with affiliates playing that I used a more traditional style. In retrospect I would implement this style of playing in each zone right away and just instruct affiliates on the system before games.

Update:The entire WWHL folded and now there is only one women's professional league. The three teams from Alberta that were in the league combined to form Team Alberta and joined the four eastern Canada and USA teams in the Canadian Womens Hockey League.

- Right and left backs forecheck 1-2-3 with torpedoes on the strong side.

- Middle Back play on the puck side point with weak side back middle point.

Description:

Diagram 1 Forecheck

1. Torpedoes forecheck in a tandem I. Pressure inside to out and return to the middle lane.

2. Right and left backs play their half of the ice. Join the rush deep on the strong side and mid slot when on the weak side. Play the weak side point and always look for the back door play when it is there.

3. Backs play the low 3-3 and Torpedoes cover the points and stretch on possession.

Key Points:Make hard fakes and shoot while skating and follow the shot.

Description:1. Nets across from each other and one group facing the other.2. First player from each line face each other then make a fake and skate in for a shot.3. Option is to exchange pucks then skate in for a shot.

Key Points:Pass hard and keep your feet moving. Follow the shot for a rebound and circle back for the next shooter.

Description:1. Players line up along the boards opposite each other and shots can be taken at just one end or both ends at the same time.2. Start 1 skate along the red line and pass to 2 and get a return pass then skate in and shoot.3. After passing 2 skate toward 3 and do the same thing.4. After shooting and following the shot #1 skate to the top of the circles and go in for the rebound from #2.Options:Two players could leave at once and the return pass go to the second player. In this case allow only one pass in the offensive zone.

Key Points:I used this tournament rotation a lot teaching sports like volleyball, badminton, basketball. Use nets, small nets, pylons or blue and red lines on the boards as nets.After about 4 rotations you end up with the best players at one end playing each other so it is a good way to select teams as well.You can play from 1-1 to 5-5 depending on how many games are going on at once. Have jokers that must be passed to for regroups or one timers or pass to a joker to rest.

Description:1. At least two cross ice games at once are required.

2. Play cross ice games of 1-1 to 5-5 and keep score.

3. Add skill rules, regroups, player rotation rules etc.

4. When the game is over follow these steps.

a. Put the pucks in the middle lane.b. Winners go to the King's Court side of the ice.c. Losers go to the other side, if tied stay on the same side.d. Now rotate clockwise but the team at the King's Court stay where they are.e. Start the next game with a 3 stick touch NHL face-off.

* if there is a dispute about who won then the winner is decided by Rock-Paper-Scissors.